Pelosi said subsidies for food insecurity and housing have not gone down. She’s wrong

Julia Cohen, DCNF

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 22: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2018 in Washington, DC. Democratic leaders joined leaders of prominent teacher's unions to call for higher pay for teachers and greater investment in public schools. (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images) — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images)

Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the amount of Americans relying on food and housing subsidies was not decreasing in a press conference Thursday, but that claim doesn’t match the facts.

“This is one unusual time … where the unemployment rate is down but the dependence on subsidies, whether its food insecurity, housing subsidies … has not gone down,” Pelosi said.

In reality, the number of Americans relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Program, or SNAP, decreased 7.8 percent from October 2016 to February 2018, according to the latest Department of Agriculture numbers.

The amount of individuals receiving housing choice vouchers has also gone down. There were 1.2 percent less people receiving housing choice vouchers in 2017 than in 2016. The federal government also spent an average of seven dollars less per person on vouchers in 2017 than in 2016. That’s over $84 million in savings on housing vouchers.

Pelosi’s comment was in response to May’s 3.8 percent unemployment rate, the lowest since 1969.

Pelosi’s office did not return The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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